The plan incorporates programs to transform the nation´s sole railway line into public service oriented and commercial transport service and establish the more than seven-decade old railway service as a modern, safe and reliable mean of transportation in the country. The strategy focuses on strengthening and better managing the 51-km long railway line (now only 29 km operational) to upgrade its service standard.
Baburam Acharya, secretary at the MoLTM, told myrepublica.com that the strategy was formulated with the objectives of strengthening capacity and improving the service so as to increase revenue, protect existing assets and increase institutional capacity of the company. “We should select the chief of the company on the basis of their vision to give a new lease of life to the company,” Acharya added.
Under the strategy, the ministry has set a target of replacing five percent of the total sleepers in the 29-km stretch within four months and continue the replacement of remaining sleepers by 5 percent every year. More than 70 percent of the sleepers in the line need immediate replacing. The government has also targeted to make three engines operational and bring six non-functional coaches into operation within three months. Only two of the four engines are operational at present.
As per the strategy, the government also aims to carry out repair works of all stations along the Janakpur-Jayanagar line within six months, repair all operating coaches within two months and increase number of passengers to 1.7 million a year from existing 1.2 million within a year.
In cargo front, the strategy envisions a provision of adding two bogies and carrying out repair works of go-downs in Janakpur and Jayanagar to increase transportation of cargo volume to 18,000 tons a year. During the 2008/09 fiscal year, the railway had ferried 8,296 tons of goods. Likewise, the government also aims to increase daily fare collection to Rs 125,000 from existing Rs 65,000 by bringing down the number of passengers traveling without paying fare to nil. The strategy also incorporates provisions to protect and properly utilize assets of the company.
To improve human resource management, the government plans to implement performance-based incentive systems within a year. The company will conduct a study on requirement of manpower to trim additional employee burden. As per the strategy, the railway line will be converted into broad gauge in five years and will be expanded till Bardibas within ten years in coordination with the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works.
The ministry has put the estimated cost of carrying out repair works in physical infrastructures at Rs 17.5 million and maintenance of coaches at Rs 394,000.
Meanwhile, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the legislature-parliament summoned Minister for Labor and Transport Management Mohammad Aftab Alam and secretary Acharya to seek clarification on the sorry state of Janakpur-Jayanagar railway service. The PAC also directed the MoLTM to implement the 10-year strategic plan within the stipulated time.
The committee also directed the ministry to extend narrow gauge line from existing 29 km to 51 km and construct broad-gauge line from Jayanagar to Bardibas by utilizing the company´s existing resource of Rs 13.2 million and additional resource from the Finance Ministry. The committee also decided to monitor the progress of implementation of the strategic plan.
prabhakar@myrepublica.com
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